UK opposition leader to face leadership challenge

LONDON (AA) – Rebels in Britain’s main opposition Labour Party have announced plans to challenge leader Jeremy Corbyn after peace talks aimed at uniting his party’s disparate factions were abandoned.

In a statement on Saturday, deputy leader Tom Watson announced “with regret and profound sadness” that his efforts to forge a compromise between Corbyn, who is backed by large trade unions, and more centrist figures had failed.

Angela Eagle, who served in Corbyn’s senior leadership team until resigning last month, said she would launch a formal leadership challenge against him on Monday.

But Corbyn said he would remain as party leader and fight in any contest.

The Labour party has been bitterly divided since Corbyn became leader last September, with many moderates arguing his hard-left policies mean he is unlikely to win a parliamentary election.

Corbyn has lost the support of most of Labour’s 228 lawmakers in the House of Commons but retains strong support among the party membership.

He was also criticized over perceptions he ran a lackluster campaign for Britain remaining an EU member ahead of last month’s Brexit referendum.

Watson said in a statement on Saturday: “The Labour Party was founded with the explicit aim of pursuing the parliamentary path to socialism.

“Every Labour leader needs to command the support of their MPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party [PLP], as well as party members, in order to achieve that. It is clear to all that Jeremy has lost the support of the PLP with little prospect of regaining it.”